New Delhi:
The seventh and last part of the 2024 Lok Sabha election begins this morning.
Fifty-seven seats throughout seven states – 13 in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, 9 in Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha, 4 in Himachal Pradesh, and three in Jharkhand, in addition to Chandigarh – will full a mammoth train that started 55 days in the past – on April 19.
Voting will happen amid a scorching warmth wave throughout elements of the nation, together with these voting. At the very least 10 heat-related deaths have been reported from Odisha, whereas seven ballot officers in Bihar and UP have died prior to now 24 hours due to the temperatures.
Total greater than 30 heat-related deaths are suspected, as day-time temperatures cross 45 levels Celsius every day within the above states, resulting in concern over voter turnout.
Campaigning for the ultimate part performed out towards a myriad flashpoints between the ruling BJP and the opposition INDIA bloc, together with the clock ticking right down to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal – arrested within the liquor coverage rip-off – returning to jail after his bail ends.
A lot to the chagrin of the Enforcement Directorate, Mr Kejriwal received bail so he might marketing campaign forward of the election in Delhi and Punjab, the 2 states the place his get together has energy. The wily AAP boss has tried to leverage his time in jail to flip voters on the fence.
Because the election attracts to an in depth the main focus has additionally been on the INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate… or lack of 1, which has been a supply of frequent BJP jibes.
Congress boss Mallikarjun Kharge has informed NDTV prior to now this query can be answered – by member-parties sitting collectively – after the outcomes are declared. In different phrases, there isn’t a level in speaking about who will turn into the Prime Minister if the coalition doesn’t win.
READ | “Rahul My Alternative For PM, Priyanka Ought to Have Stood”: Kharge
At this time, nevertheless, he broke from that line and selected Rahul Gandhi – who, admittedly, does seem like the more than likely consensus candidate if one is required – because the PM face.
One other headline level on this part was the BJP-BJD squabble in Odisha, which is holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and Meeting polls. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s “superior age and well being points” have been utilized by Mr Modi to assault the BJD boss.
READ | “Conspiracy” Over Naveen Patnaik’s Well being, Claims PM
Mr Patnaik, 77, hit again with a jibe of his personal, declaring that if the Prime Minister, 73, had been involved about his well being he ought to be happy to speak to him immediately.
Additionally, earlier than this part, ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched a last assault on the BJP, writing a letter urging voters to take advantage of a “last likelihood to make sure our democracy and Structure are protected against repeated assaults by a despotic regime”.
READ | “Closing Likelihood To Shield Nation From…”: Manmohan Singh
Dr Singh additionally took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately over controversial feedback made throughout a rally in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara in an earlier part, during which the Congress veteran had been named. Mr Modi, whose get together obtained an Election Fee discover, referred to Muslims and an excerpt from his predecessor’s speech about making certain equal entry to assets, notably for underprivileged or marginalised communities.
READ | Campaigning Ends, PM Meditates In Kanniyakumari
Lastly, Mr Modi’s meditation go to to Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu has sparked a row, notably since his get together has traditionally struggled within the southern state and the late-election go to has been seen by the opposition as an option to affect voters.
The BJP, nevertheless, has insisted this can be a private go to and has no election hyperlink.
PM’s Varanasi Bastion
A lot of the main focus on this part can be on Mr Modi’s seat of Varanasi in UP, which he’s hoping to win for a 3rd straight time. The PM romped to victory in 2019 with almost 6.8 lakh votes and greater than 63 per cent of the vote share. He faces the Congress’ Ajay Rai.
The Prime Minister filed his nomination on Could 14 accompanied by a phalanx of senior leaders from the BJP and its companions, together with get together boss JP Nadda and Dwelling Minister Amit Shah, in addition to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma.
This was after a flashy six km roadshow the night earlier than.
Mr Rai has contested every of the previous three elections from the temple city; the previous two as a Congress chief and the 2009 ballot as a member of Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Celebration.
READ | PM Recordsdata Varanasi Nomination, Then A Huge Present Of Power
His finest return was in 2019 – 1.5 lakh votes and round 14 per cent of the vote share.
Hindus make up round 75 per cent of Varanasi’s demographic and Muslims 20 per cent.
An estimated 10 per cent are from Scheduled Tribes whereas 0.7 are from Scheduled Castes. The agricultural-urban cut up of the inhabitants is 65 to 35 per cent.
Away from Varanasi, the highlight can be cut up between Punjab and Bengal.
Battle For Punjab
There’s an intriguing AAP vs Congress vs BJP battle in Punjab. The AAP and Congress are, on paper, a part of the INDIA opposition bloc and are contesting as allies in neighbouring Delhi.
In Punjab, nevertheless, the 2 are ‘enemies’, a wierd state of affairs replicated in Bengal, the place the Congress and the Trinamool are rivals regardless of being INDIA members.
The ‘pleasant hearth’ contests have been criticised by the BJP, which has mentioned the bloc’s failure to agree seat-share offers underlines its unstable nature and makes it a poor selection.
The battle for Punjab is difficult by the Akali Dal – a former BJP ally that walked out over farmers’ protests from 2020 that proceed to simmer – preventing independently too.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal campaigning in Punjab (File).
In 2019 the Congress – then led by ex-Chief Minister Amarinder Singh – received eight seats.
The Akalis and BJP (then allies) received two every and the AAP received one.
Quick-forward three years and the AAP thumped the Congress within the state ballot, successful 92 of 117 seats. A faction-ridden Congress received simply 18, the Akalis three and the BSP received one.
Considerably, the BJP contested 73 and gained simply two. This was towards the backdrop of farmers’ protests, which rumbles on to at the present time, suggesting it’d wrestle this time too.
Rumble In Bengal
Solely 9 of Bengals’ 42 seats will vote in the present day. Nevertheless, these embody the distinguished Kolkata North and South seats and Diamond Harbour, which was gained in 2014 and 2019 by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who’s looking for re-election.
Mr Banerjee and his aunt are among the many BJP’s fiercest public critics.
The nephew faces a BJP veteran, Abhijit Das, within the Diamond Harbour race. Diamond Harbour was beforehand a CPIM bastion; the get together held it from 1967 to 2004.
The Kolkata seats had been additionally gained by the Trinamool final time.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (File).
The South seat is Ms Banerjee’s bastion, which she held from 1991 until 2011; this was when she was elected because the MLA from Bhabinipur and give up her MP submit to turn into chief minister.
It was gained by Subrata Bakshi after she stepped down and by Mala Roy in 2019. Ms Roy will defend her seat towards the CPIM’s Saira Shah Halim and the BJP’s Debasri Choudhary.
The North seat is a brand new one; it was created forward of the 2009 election and has been the Trinamool’s since, with Sudip Bandyopadhyay searching for a fourth consecutive win.
Amongst different seats polling in the present day are different Trinamool strongholds of Barasat, Basirhat, and Dum Dum, from which get together veteran Saugata Roy can be searching for a fourth straight win.
In actual fact, in 2019 the Trinamool gained all 9 seats polling in the present day.
Himachal Pradesh Problem
There are solely 4 seats within the hill state and the BJP gained all of them final time, as they did in 2014 too. The 2024 election can be a straight struggle between them and the Congress.
READ | 6 Disqualified Congress MLAs Be part of BJP In Himachal
Himachal Pradesh made headlines after cross voting by Congress MLAs within the Rajya Sabha election nearly introduced down the get together’s (hard-won) state authorities. Six MLAs defied the get together’s whip, for which they had been disqualified. Three have now joined the BJP.
There are two large names in play right here for the BJP (and one for the Congress).
For the BJP, that is actor-politician Kangana Ranaut’s ballot debut, and he or she goes straight in on the deep finish. She faces the Congress’ state boss, Vikramaditya Singh, from Mandi. Mr Singh is the son of the late Virbhadra Singh, a Congress icon and six-time former Chief Minister.
The opposite large identify is Union Minister Anurag Thakur, who’s searching for a fifth consecutive win from Hamirpur, the seat thrice held by his father and ex-Chief Minister PK Dhamal.
Mr Thakur, who received 68 per cent of the votes final time, faces the Congress’ Satpal Raizada.
Congress chief Anand Sharma stands from the Kangra seat.
2024 Lok Sabha Election: The Finish Sport
Finally it should all come right down to what the numbers say on June 4, counting day.
For both the BJP or the Congress to assert a majority, they will need to have 272 seats.
The BJP is massively assured it will probably cross this determine by itself, and given its efficiency in latest central and state polls, this is not going to be a shock. For the Congress to take action – given its haul of 44 in 2014 and 52 in 2019 – can be a mega shock. Each events do have help from allies – the BJP from the Nationwide Democratic Alliance and the Congress from INDIA.
Exit ballot information will give a clearer image however these is not going to be revealed until after voting ends.
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